1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of item holders and more particularly to holders for soft toys.
2. Background Art
A known means of displaying soft toys, such as teddy bears, is to place them on a shelf. This means is practiced for display for retail sale, such as in a toy store, and for personal display, such as in a child's bedroom. The Petting Zoo of Glen Burnie, Md. offers shelf display unit 100 for display of multiple soft toys 102 (FIG. 1). Shelf display units are often inadequate due to the ease with which soft toys can be knocked off of the shelf. They are further inadequate due to the tendency of toys to flop down into a lying position rather than staying in a sitting position. It is difficult to take inventory of soft toys when they are displayed on a shelf since it is not immediately obvious how many items are present, how many items should be present and how many items have been removed.
Another known means for displaying soft toys is to place them on a two-prong hook. Medicalfurniture Company of the United Kingdom offers two-prong hook 104 for display and storage of soft toy 106 (FIG. 2). The two-prong hook is sold to hospitals to provide a means for a child to store, display and retrieve a personal soft toy close to their bed. In order to use a two-prong hook, a child must accurately convey the soft toy in horizontal direction 108. This may be beyond the ability of a child, particularly if they are very young or ill. Furthermore, the two-prong hook will not adequately hold a soft toy, such as a sponge ball, that does not have any appendages. The two-prong hook can pose a safety hazard if the child were to push their hand or other part of their body into one or more of the prongs while attempting to place a soft toy on it.
Another known means for displaying soft toys is a horizontal loop. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 402,826, “Plush Toy Display Stand”, to Barkley, discloses a plush toy holder which comprises a plurality of loops attached to a frame. Plush toys are generally also soft toys as used herein. This means requires an accurate up and down movement to insert or remove a soft toy. It presents a “bound” appearance to the soft toys due to the bands that appear to shackle them. This may be objectionable to some people. It also relies on gravity to hold the toy.
Another known means for displaying soft toys is a vertical aperture. U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,545, “Apparatus and Method for Display of Stuffed Animals”, to Greenburg, discloses a stuffed animal holder which comprises a plurality of vertical loops in a tree frame structure. A stuffed animal is generally a soft toy as used herein. This means requires the stuffed animal to have appendages. This means also does not allow the entire toy to be viewed at once.
Another known means for displaying soft toys is the combination of a vertical opening and a shelf U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,915, “Hanging Doll House Structure”, to Zaruba et al, discloses a doll holder which comprises a plurality of vertical openings that are used in combination with adjacent shelves. This means relies on gravity to support the dolls. It also does not allow the entire doll to be viewed at once. Dolls are not necessarily soft toys as used herein. Hard plastic dolls, such as Barbie™ dolls are not soft toys. Stuffed dolls, such as Raggedy Ann dolls are soft toys.
Another known means for displaying soft toys is a concave aperture defined by an edge and a plurality of slits extending away from the edge. U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,319, “Transport and Display Case for a Figurine” to Ting, discloses a means for displaying an animal head figurine which comprises a concave aperture defined by an edge and a plurality of slits extending away from the edge. This means relies on gravity to properly orient the head relative to the opening. This means does not allow the entire figure to be viewed at once.
A known means for holding displaying hard objects is to provide a chamber comprising a sheet of material with an aperture. U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,443 B1, “Package” to Damaskos discloses a means for holding and displaying axially symmetric hard objects such as medicine bottles where a chamber comprising a sheet of material with an aperture is provided. The aperture is adapted to retain the hard objects within the chamber. The aperture may have an amoeba shape. This reference neither teaches nor suggests the use of a sheet of material with an amoeba shaped opening adapted to hold a soft toy.
There are no devices or methods, prior to the present invention, that disclose the use of a sheet of material comprising an amoeba shaped opening adapted to hold or display a soft toy. The sheet of material is able to hold soft toys irrespective of the orientation of the opening with respect to gravity, requires only a minimum of dexterity and strength to insert or remove a soft toy therefrom, can display soft toys in an orderly fashion with an obvious indication of the absence of a soft toy, and can hold soft toys whether or not they have appendages. The prior art soft toy holders fail to offer the unique advantages contemplated by the present invention.